A Project of The Modesto Bee, Modesto City Schools and Stanislaus County Office of Education 2020 STUDENT ESSAY PACKET The American Heritage Scholarship Program seeks to increase our understanding of what it means to be an American Unlike other nations, the essence of American nationality has little to with our country of origin or the specifics of our religious faith While the American spirit embraces such diversity, what unites us as a people is a shared set of principles and ideals, which proclaim our freedoms and set forth our responsibilities 2020 SPEAKERS Judge Marie Silveira, Stanislaus County Superior Court Marian Kaanon, Stanislaus Community Foundation 2020 ESSAY PROMPT Voting is a basic component of democracy, and who gets the right to cast a ballot has been a contentious issue Today there is debate over lowering the age for voting In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, consider the efforts made by generations of women to secure the right to vote Use case law and statutes to support or oppose whether the voting age should be lowered If so, to what age should it be lowered? If not, why? How arguments surrounding the 19th Amendment apply? Week of August 17th September 9th October 12th November 17th TIMELINE Application Packets electronically sent to all high schools and available online www.stancoe.org/go/americanheritage Pre-recorded Presentation www.stancoe.org/go/americanheritage ESSAYS DUE to the Stanislaus County Office of Education – Security Desk, 1st Floor (Can be postmarked by 4:30 PM on October 12th) Awards Ceremony (Virtual via Zoom) Up to $10,000 in College Scholarships and Awards will be distributed to 19 winners (based on available funding) For information, please contact: Lisa Avila - lavila@stancoe.org (209) 238-1706 Co-sponsored by: 2020 ESSAY CONTEST RULES FAILURE TO FOLLOW ANY OF THE RULES BELOW WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION PLEASE READ EACH ITEM CAREFULLY The American Heritage Essay Scholarship Competition is open to all 11th and 12th grade students attending any public, charter, private, or home school in Stanislaus County The pre-recorded presentation will take place virtually on September 9, 2020 The video will be available for viewing online at: www.stancoe.org/go/americanheritage Students must their own work Teachers may not provide feedback of any kind on individual essays Students must support their response to the essay prompt by citing a minimum of four valid sources within the body of the essay (no printed encyclopedias, Wikipedia, or similar sources) Be sure to reference local primary sources, which MUST include a reference/quote from the main speaker Students MUST underline the sources of the citations in their essay EXAMPLE: Even volunteers seem to feel bitter about the idea, claiming that “it undercuts the very idea of volunteering” (Allen, 2010) Essay and Works Cited MUST be in MLA format, with Works Cited attached to the back of the essay A sample Works Cited page has been included in this packet FAILURE TO CITE REQUIRED SOURCES WITHIN ESSAY AND ATTACH A WORKS CITED PAGE WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION Students must submit ONE copy of their essay using one side of white paper (8.5 x 11”) Pages must be numbered consecutively The Scholarship Essay Cover Sheet must be the first page The maximum number of words is 2,000 Type font must be double-spaced, 12 pt., black ink, Times New Roman font Be sure to include word count in the space provided on the cover sheet The completed Scholarship Essay cover sheet form MUST be completed online https://www.stancoe.org/2020AHScholarshipCover and printed with signatures executed from both student and parent This completed cover sheet must be paper clipped securely to the essay (Please NOT staple) The student’s name must NOT appear anywhere on the essay itself, only on the cover sheet 10 The program sponsors reserve the right to reprint entries Entries will not be returned 11 Entries can be delivered by U.S mail or hand-delivered All hand-delivered entries must be received at the Stanislaus County Office of Education (Security Desk – 1st Floor), 1100 H Street, Modesto, CA 95354, no later than 4:30 P.M on October 12, 2020 Entries U.S mailed to the County Office must be postmarked by October 12, 2020 Essay Judging A distinguished group of local educators, writers, community leaders, and representatives from the legal community will judge the essays in a first round The rubric is available for viewing at: www.stancoe.org/go/americanheritage Finalist’s essays will be ranked by local volunteer, Superior Court Judges Those who will be awarded scholarships will be notified by staff from the Stanislaus County Office of Education and invited to the Awards Ceremony Scholarships and Awards (based on available funding) One $ 2,000 scholarship Two $ 1,500 scholarships Two $ 1,000 scholarships Four $ 500 scholarships Ten $ 100 cash awards Notification of Winners Winners will be notified the week of November 9, 2020 An Awards ceremony will be held virtually via Zoom, on the evening of November 17, 2020 Additional Information: Contact: Stanislaus County Office of Education Lisa Avila: lavila@stancoe.org (209) 238-1706 Week of August 17th September 9th October 12th November 17th TIMELINE Application Packets electronically sent to all high schools and available online at: www.stancoe.org/go/americanheritage Pre-recorded Presentation www.stancoe.org/go/americanheritage ESSAYS DUE to the Stanislaus County Office of Education – Security Desk, 1st Floor (Must be postmarked by 4:30 pm on October 12th) Awards Ceremony (Virtual via Zoom) 2020 ESSAY PROMPT Voting is a basic component of democracy, and who gets the right to cast a ballot has been a contentious issue Today there is debate over lowering the age for voting In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, consider the efforts made by generations of women to secure the right to vote Use case law and statutes to support or oppose whether the voting age should be lowered If so, to what age should it be lowered? If not, why? How arguments surrounding the 19th Amendment apply? Documentation of Sources and a Sample Works Cited Page MLA Format Essay Formatting: • Use Times New Roman, in 12 point size font • Double space throughout paper, including the Works Cited page • Set margins to inch at top, bottom, and both sides • Indent the first word of a paragraph by ½ inch or spaces • Number all pages consecutively, including the works cited page • DO NOT use a title page Center your title on the first page In-Text Citations: • References in your paper must clearly point to specific sources in your Works Cited page • Within parentheses, list the author’s name and the page number of specifically cited content • If you have two authors with the same last name, also include the author’s first initial • If you have several works by the same author, also include the title (abbreviate if long) • Is no author is listed, use the title (abbreviate if long) • If using the title, remember to use correct punctuation: underline book titles, use quotation marks for journal articles, short stories, book chapters, etc • The author’s name can be referred to within the sentence Example: O’Rourke and Rodrigues have argued this point (24-25) • Or the author’s name can be referred to within the parenthetical reference Example: Some scholars have argued this point (O’Rourke and Rodrigues 24-25) Works Cited Page: • Continue page numbering from the body of your essay • Center the title “Works Cited.” • Alphabetize entries by the author’s last name • If no author, alphabetize by the title (ignore A, An, The) • Use a hanging indent (second line of source is indented by one tab) • Works Cited Examples: BASIC MODEL FOR BOOKS: Author(s) Title of Work City, State: Publisher, Date Medium BASIC MODEL FOR MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: Author(s) “Title of Article.” Genre (where applicable) Title of Publication Volume Issue Number Date of Publication: Page Number(s) Database Name Web Date of Access BASIC MODEL FOR INTERNET SOURCES: Author(s) “Title of Article” or “Section of Website (Genre if no title is available).” Title of Website Date of Posting or Last Update Web Date of Access (if different from Posting or Update) Additional Resources: • Refer to the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University’s website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ • Utilize bibliographic management tools such as: o www.citationmachine.net o www.easybib.com • The following websites provide guidelines on evaluating sources, misleading websites, and criteria for evaluation o https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=302843706401480 o http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html o https://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html o http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm ... the space provided on the cover sheet The completed Scholarship Essay cover sheet form MUST be completed online https://www.stancoe.org/2020AHScholarshipCover and printed with signatures executed... scholarship Two $ 1,500 scholarships Two $ 1,000 scholarships Four $ 500 scholarships Ten $ 100 cash awards Notification of Winners Winners will be notified the week of November 9, 2020 An Awards... awarded scholarships will be notified by staff from the Stanislaus County Office of Education and invited to the Awards Ceremony Scholarships and Awards (based on available funding) One $ 2,000 scholarship